United Kingdom and coal

While coal consumption in the United Kingdom continues to slowly grow, largely as a result of increased coal-fired power generation, domestic coal production -- especially from underground mines -- continued its long-term decline. The United Kingdom consumed 68.2 million tonnes of coal in 2006, with approximately 84% used in coal-fired power stations. Nearly all of the 18.6 million tonnes of coal produced in 2006 was for domestic consumption with just over 500,000 tonnes exported. Approximately 50.3 million tonnes of coal was imported, predominantly from Russia (45%), South Africa (35%), Australia, Colombia, and Indonesia.

Since 1977, the domestic coal mining industry has been in freefall. In 1977 over 120 million tonnes of coal was produced in Great Britain, with over 107 million tonnes of that from underground mines. By 2006 underground mines produced just over 9.4 million tonnes. While there was growth in the output of coal from open cut mines during much of the same period, this sector of the industry is now also in decline. With the closure of numerous mines, employment in the industry has fallen to an estimated 5,091 as of March 2007.

While the prospects for the domestic coal industry are bleak, the British Geological Survey reports that in 2006 electricity supplied by coal jumped by over 11%. (Electricity supplied by gas and nuclear power dropped by over 7% in 2006). Whether coal-fired power stations will continue to expand or decline depends on a range of factors including the extent to which new offshore wind stations are established, the carbon price in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, the price and security of supply of imported gas and government decisions relating to the construction of new nuclear power stations.

It was reported in June 2011 that Britain's green energy sector produced 27% more electricity in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the same period in 2011 as the rapid expansion of offshore wind capacity started to bear fruit, official figures have revealed. However, at the same time power companies using 7% more coal.

Aug. 31, 2006: Drax Power Plant blockade attempt
On August 31, 2006, around 600 people attempted to shut down the Drax coal-fired power plant in Selby, England, in a widely-publicized action - organized by a variety of environmental groups - that was billed as "the battle of Drax." Several raiding parties of activists were arrested while trying to break through the perimeter fence. A larger crowd of people then pushed through police lines, and were arrested as well. 38 people were arrested throughout the day, in a massive show of force by area police. Many power plant staff didn't show up for the day, and others locked their doors.



Oct. 8, 2007: Greenpeace occupation of Kingsnorth Power Station
On October 8, 2007, 50 Greenpeace UK activists occupied the Kingsnorth Power Station near Kent, England. One team of people shut down the conveyor belts carrying coal into the plant, and then chained themselves to the machinery. Another team scaled the plant's chimney, upon which they painted the phrase "Gordon Bit It." Greenpeace held the action in protests of plans by the plant's owners, E.ON, to build two new coal-fired plants at the site - which would be the first coal-fired power plants built in the UK in 20 years. Police arrested 18 people during the action.



Dec. 5, 2007: Blockade of Ffos-y-fran coal mine construction site
On December 5, 2007, about thirty local residents and activists from a variety of environmental groups - many of whom were dressed as polar bears - occupied the Ffos-y-fran coal mine construction site in South Wales. Several polar bears chained themselves to bulldozers, while other people hung a banner from one bulldozer criticizing Prime Minister Gordon Brown's ongoing support for coal power (the action was timed to coincide with the Bali climate change negotiations). Miller Argent, the company digging the mine, plans to remove 11 million tons of coal from the site. Several community groups have spoken out against the mine, which is being built about forty yards from several homes.



April 1, 2008: Occupation of Ffos-y-fran coal mine construction site
On April 1, 2008, as part of the Fossil Fools International Day of Action, dozens of local residents and activists from a variety of environmental groups occupied the Ffos-y-fran coal mine construction site in South Wales. Protestors arrived at 6 am, scaled a coal washery and dropped a 100-foot banner, took over construction machinery, and locked themselves to the front gate, shutting down major work at the site for the day. Police made two arrests, and the other activists left without incident.



April 1, 2008: Eastside Climate Action blockade of E.ON headquarters in Nottingham
On April 1, 2008, as part of the Fossil Fools International Day of Action, 30 activists with Eastside Climate Action blockaded the front entrance of E.ON's headquarters in Nottingham, England. Two people used U-locks to lock themselves to the front door, while others blockaded the back entrance; other protestors poured green paint on themselves, to simulate E.ON's "greenwashing". The action was in protest of E.ON's plans to build the Kingsnorth coal-fired power plant - the first new coal plant in the UK in 50 years. Police made two arrests, and the building was shut down for the day.



April 3, 2008: Rising Tide occupation of Aberthaw Power Station
On April 3, 2008, as part of the Fossil Fools International Day of Action, members of Bristol Rising Tide occupied the Aberthaw coal-fired power plant in South Wales. Activists entered the facility, chained themselves to conveyor belts, and occupied several buildings; others locked themselves to the facility's front gates. The action was in solidarity with the Ffos-y-Fran mine construction site in South Wales; coal from Ffos-y-Fran will be used to fuel Aberthaw for 17 years. Police arrested 11 people.

June 13, 2008: Activists halt coal train on its way to UK's largest power plant
On the morning of June 13, 2008, 40 Camp for Climate Action activists, a small number disguised as railway workers, flagged down and stopped a coal train on its way to Drax Power Station, the UK's largest power plant. Protesters climbed onto the train and unloaded almost 20 tons of coal onto the tracks while others chained themselves to the train. A banner was unfurled reading 'Leave it in the Ground!'. Riot police stormed the train and removed the protesters around midnight. 29 were arrested.

July 16, 2008: UK activists target coal-fired plant's PR spin machine
On July 16, 2008, activists with Oxford Climate Action blockaded the headquarters of public relations giant Edelman Public Relations. Several protestors gained access to the firms offices while others climbed onto the roof to unfurl a banner reading "Edelman: Spinning The Climate Out Of Control". Edelman PR was hired by E.On, the world’s largest investor-owned energy service provider. E.On is proposing to upgrade its coal-fired Kingsnorth power station to use supercritical coal technology. Kingsnorth is currently considered to be a conventional coal plant but under the EU’s Large Combustion Plant Directive, the plant would eventually have to be closed without the upgrade. According to activists, Edelman PR is engaging in a campaign to 'greenwash' E.On's continued investment in burning coal.

August 11, 2008: Activists glue themselves to coal giant's headquarters
On August 11, 2008, nine activists glued themselves to the revolving door and windows at BHP Billiton's headquarters in central London. The protesters also scattered coal across the floor of the lobby. BHP is one of the world's largest coal companies. According to one activist the protest was to highlight that the "expansion of the coal industry is unacceptable in the face of impending climate chaos." The protest ended peacefully after 90 minutes and there were no arrests.

April 14, 2009: 114 arrested for allegedly planning direct action against coal plant in Nottingham, UK
Police carried out what may be the largest preemptive strike on environmental activism in British history. 114 people were arrested for planning a direct action at a coal-fired power station, believed to be E.ON's Ratcliff-on-Soar plant. Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green party, said, "confidence in policing of protests like this has just about hit rock bottom. Peaceful protest is a civil liberty we need to be upheld, even more in the context of the lack of government action on climate change. We have tried all the usual channels." The alleged activists were charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and aggravated trespass.

E.ON confirmed that the Ratcliff plant was the intended target. No group claimed responsibility for the alleged protest. Although no details of the proposed action were available, veteran activists suggested that demonstrators may have planned to chain themselves to conveyor belts transporting coal into the power plant. The tactic has been used at both Ratcliffe and the Kingsnorth Power Station, also owned by E.ON UK.

August 10, 2009: Activists dump coal outside South Lanarkshire Council headquarters in Hamilton, UK
Activists protesting plans for a new mine near Douglas, UK dumped piles of coal outside the headquarters of South Lanarkshire Council. A damaged conveyor belt, which was suspected to be another action by climate change protesters, disrupted coal deliveries at an existing mine in the area. The protesters, organized by the Camp for Climate Action Scotland, said they wanted to call attention to the environmental and health issues of open cast mining.

October 2009: Greenpeace activist stops coal freighter
Over 50 British Greenpeace activists in October 2009 led a protest on top of the House of Parliament to protest the country's use of coal. The activists that were arrested spent one day in jail. Emma Gibson, one of the protesters involved, stated that her children give her the strength to be involved in such actions against coal.

"Having twins changed me enormously. Physically and emotionally it was a very difficult experience," she said. "I felt that if I could survive twins, then I could survive anything."

October 17-18, 2009: Protest against E.ON's Ratcliffe plant
On August 31, 2009, Climate Camp activists announced a planned action against Ratcliffe coal-fired power plant in central England. The protesters hope to shut down the plant in a mass protest scheduled for October 17 and 18, 2009. Activist Charlotte Johnson said, "We will shut Ratcliffe by land, water and air. People will break into the plant and occupy the chimney. Coal power stations must be shut permanently if we are to have any chance of stopping catastrophic climate change." A spokesman for E.ON said the company will work with police to ensure the plant remains in operation. Ratliffe ranks 18th on a list of the most polluting power plants in Europe in 2008.

During the action, hundreds of protesters tried to break through a security fence surrounding the plant. Police arrested more than 50 activists.

June 2009: Protesters at Mainshill Wood in Scotland Protest Coal Mine
Climate change activists, calling themselves the Mainshill Solidarity Camp, erected a treehouse, tunnels and even a hammock that surrounded a site of a proposed open cast coal mine controlled by Scottish Coal. Protester Ross Jones said: "The reaction has been amazing. It was the first of its kind demonstration against coal mining in the country. Protesters stated that it was the beginning of more such actions to follow.

January 2010: Police arrest 11 at Scotland Coal Mine
Protesters associated with Mainshill Solidarity Camp were arrested after a six month occupation of an open cast mining site in Scotland on January 25, 2010. The protests began in June of 2009. Over ten activists were arrested in total. As the Guardian UK reported:


 * The police, supported by the national evictions team, raided the Mainshill protest camp near Douglas in Lanarkshire at 8.30am this morning, to start clearing about 40 climate campaigners now occupying tunnels, tree houses, and homemade, barricaded huts.


 * By 3pm today 11 protesters had been removed, and were charged with offences including aggravated trespass and breach of the peace.


 * Some were forcibly taken down from platforms erected roughly 100ft high in nearby trees by a specialist civilian eviction company from Wales now routinely used across the UK by police, bailiffs and, in Scotland, sheriff's officers, to combat environmental protests.

The opencast mine where the protest took place is owned by the Earl of Home, Mainshill. The location has been the target of many protests in central Scotland against the practice of opencast mining. In all there are four other opencast mines in the immediate area around Mainshill.

March 22, 2010: Protesters Set up Camp to Protest Mine in UK
On March 22, 2010, anti-coal activists began protesting UK Coal's proposed coal mine near the communities of New Works and Little Wenlock. UK Coal promised to take legal action against the protesters if they did not remove themselves from the site. The protest began in response to the coal company's proposed opencast mine to be dug in the area. Dozens of protesters, some camped over night, sought to disrupt the operation with non-violent direct action. One of the protesters, who wouldn't be named, said: “We object because it’s so close to The Wrekin and people’s homes.”

Another protester, who also did not want to be named, said: “They already started to cut down trees which they said were around 20 years old, but they’re not, they’re about 150 years old.”

As of April 28, 2010 the site of the proposed mine was still being occupied by anti-coal activists. At that time UK Coal was seeking legal authority to arrest the protesters. The government run company noted that operations were still set to begin by June 2010.

March 26, 2010: Activists Protest Opencast Mine in UK
On Mary 26, 2010, 25 anti-coal activists occupied the site of the Blair House Opencast coal mining operation. The UK Coal company was operator of the mine. As reported by UK Indymedia about the event:


 * UK Coal have been given permission by Fife Council to mine 720,000 tonnes of coal from the site, a decision that disregarded the wishes of local residents. Nearly 150 people objected to the planning application for this site and there were no letters of support. The Council, in their defence, wouldn't dare refuse another open cast coal mine application after their refusal of ATH Resources mine at Muir Dean on the insistence of Crossgates residents, was overturned by the government and cost them financially.


 * The site is ecologically diverse and home to a population of Great Crested Newts, a European Protected Specie, the Black Wood Wildlife site, designated as an area that once had ancient woodland and is now home to birch forests and oak trees, orchids, breeding birds and wintering birds, bats, red squirrels and Brown hares, listed on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The Cowstrandburn river will be diverted and undoubtedly polluted, along with other watercourses in the area.


 * Some 2.11 million tonnes of CO2 will be released into the atmosphere from the combustion of the coal, with more still being released from the mining process. None of this will be captured and stored. New coal mines such as this one undermine the governments plans to reduce Scotland's CO2 emissions and highlight the hypocrisy of government ministers and local councils when it comes to reducing emissions.


 * Fiona Richards, one of the people currently occupying the site said, “This new coal mine is only one of 20 such others to have recently been given planning permission in Scotland. If we are to have any chance of limiting dangerous climate change and protecting communities from carbon-intensive industries, direct action must be taken as councillors, mining companies and the government have shown their unwillingness to solve the problems we face.”

April 2010: Coal Activists End Protest at Opencast Mine in UK
Protesters who occupied an opencase mine operated by UK Coal to highlight an opencast coal development in the town of Fife believe ended their protest after two weeks in April 2010. The activists left the mine site prior to a court order that would have forced them to. In a statement the group wrote:


 * The camp occupied the site for a week-and-a-half to show UK Coal and other mine operators that no new mine or coal infrastructure is safe and out of reach of protesters. The intention of the camp from the beginning was to hold a short-term occupation to bring attention to the issue, make links with local communities and cost UK Coal money. One of the primary aims of the camp was to cost UK Coal money and make it more difficult for the company to cause such destruction in other places.

April 12, 2010: Sabotage Claimed at Proposed Coal Mine in Scotland
In an anonymous post on Scotland's Indymedia site, the author claimed that in the early hours of April 12, 2010 three machines were sabotaged to the extent that they would have been inoperable to work on the Mainshill opencast coal mining site. The act, noted the post, would be costly to the mine's operator Scottish Coal. The identity of the individual(s) involved in the action are not known, nor do there appear to be any press reports confirming that the sabotage actually took place.

April 26, 2010: Coal Train Blockaded in Wales
On Monday 26 April activists associated with Rising Tide blockaded the railtrack which carries coal from the opencast mine at Ffos-y-Fran in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales to Aberthaw B Power Station in South Wales. It took the combined efforts of British Rail Police and South Wales Police over 8 hours to remove the last of the protesters. According to a press release from Rising Tide, 18 People from Bristol and Bath were charged under the Malicious Damages Act of 1861, a law to protect the interests of 19th Century rail owners. If convicted they face anything up to a life sentence in prison.

August 20, 2010: Church of Scotland makes stand against coal plant
The Church of Scotland in August 2010 claimed a new coal-fired power station planned in the area of Ayrshire would be counterproductive to combating climate change, despite the claims that the plant would use the latest clean-coal technology.

The church has joined a coalition of environmental groups opposing plans to construct the 1852MW station at Hunterston, which is located on the west coast of Scotland.

Government Energy Policy
In May 2007, the UK government released a White Paper on the government's proposed future energy strategy. In the chapter on the roles of oil, gas and coal, there was little on offer to the coal industry other than hedged general support. While acknowledging that there were still "significant recoverable coal reserves" in the UK, the reported noted that a number of factors affected the ability for these to be commercially extracted including the costs compared to imported coal, "and the implications of planning considerations including potential environmental impacts." However, it did note that the government had convened a Coal Forum, comprising representatives from the government, coal mining companies, generators, unions and equipment manufacturers "to bring forward ways of strengthening the industry, and working to ensure that the UK has the right framework to secure the long-term future of coal-fired power generation; optimise the use of our coal reserves, where recovery is economic; and stimulate investment in clean coal technologies."

One crucial element in the United Kingdom's future energy mix is what demand and supply side policies are adopted to cover for the retirement of several aging nuclear plants and a number of highly polluting coal-fired and oil-fired power stations. In its White Paper the government stated that "our analysis shows that 22.5GW of existing power stations may close by 2020. Of this, 8.5GW of coal-fired capacity will close to meet the requirements of the EU Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD) by end 2015; as will about 2.5GW of oil power stations. Around 7GW of nuclear power stations are also scheduled to close between now and 2020, on the basis of their currently published lifetimes." The report suggested that approximately 20 to 25 gigawatts of new power stations "will be needed by 2020" and that "up to an additional 10GW of electricity generation capacity may be needed by 2030."

In response to the anticipated plant retirements, the government decided that it should seek to encourage further private investment in new power generation plants by publicising new regulations designed to "streamline the planning inquiry process for large scale electricity generation", provide "further details of a competition to develop in the UK demonstration of carbon capture and storage on power generation at commercial scale, and a programme of work to remove regulatory barriers to the development of CCS" and foreshadowed abandoning its opposition to the construction of new nuclear power stations. (See Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project (United Kingdom) for further details).

Carbon Capture and Storage and Nuclear Plants
In November 2009 the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change, as part of a plan to decarbonize the power sector by 2030, announced a policy that would ban new coal-fired power plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS). New plants would be required to capture and store CO2 equal to at least 300 megawatts of CO2 emissions from the day they go online, and to capture all their CO2 emissions by 2025. The energy plan also calls for 10 additional nuclear power plants to be built largely on sites where nuclear plants already exist.

To pay for CCS there will be a levy, likely to start in 2011, of about £17 a year per UK household, imposed on electricity suppliers but passed on to consumers. The UK Government is planning to raise £9.5 billion from the levy to subsidize up to four CCS demonstration plants. Details of the first plant will be announced in 2010, and will replace eight plants due to close by 2015 under European rules on air pollution. The levy will run for at least 15 years.

E.ON had announced in October 2009 that it was delaying its plan for a new coal station with CCS at Kingsnorth, Kent. However, given the new government policy, the Kingsnorth Power Station may go ahead and, along with a proposed plant at Longannet in Scotland, is competing to be the first subsidized CCS demonstration project.

Carbon capture funding cuts considered
A GBP2.7 billion U.K. coal gasification power station project that was planned to be capturing, transporting and storing carbon dioxide on a commercial scale in 2016 is on hold until the U.K.'s coalition government clarifies its policy and incentives regime for the technology, Powerfuel chief executive Richard Budge said in an interview. The Labour government enacted a levy on electricity suppliers to fund up to four carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot projects. But the incentive might be cut due to the pressures of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which will be published Oct. 20, 2010, where the government will detail its proposed cuts.

Although the CCS levy won't directly impact the government as it is a levy on suppliers and ultimately consumers, it would need to be administered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and Britain's energy regulator Ofgem, and would therefore have an impact on government accounting. The CCS levy was estimated to raise up to GBP10 billion over its 15-year lifespan. Powerfuel had planned to construct the world's first large-scale integrated gasification combined cycle power station with carbon capture capability in two phases with the plant operating on syngas in 2013 in the first phase. By 2015 the power station would have the gasification and carbon capture units installed and then move to full commercial operation in the second quarter of 2016. The plant would be using gasification technology licensed from Royal Dutch Shell.

In addition to Powerfuel's project, Iberdrola SA's U.K. subsidiary ScottishPower and others including National Grid PLC, Shell and Aker Clean Carbon, is developing a plan to scale up its one megawatt prototype CCS test unit at its Longannet coal-fired power station in Scotland. Although the technology to capture and store carbon dioxide already exists, the entire chain has yet to be deployed on a commercial scale and consequently the costs are so high that the projects cannot be built without substantial government support.

2011: UK calls for halving 1990 GHG levels by 2025
On May 17, 2011, the UK government announced legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2025. The agreement was informed by the Committee on Climate Change, which calls for 80 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2050, a recommendation in line with what many IPCC scientists suggest is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. In 2014, the goal will be reviewed against the European Union’s emissions trajectory and the UK could adjust the target if the country’s reductions are stronger than those in the rest of the EU.

Scotland's energy Policy
In December 2008, Scotland ministers published what they described as the world's most advanced climate change bill. The proposal is designed to cut Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Although the proposal promises more renewable energy, critics of the plan say much of the focus is on "clean coal".

First Minister Alex Salmond has promised support for the opening of two new coal mines, and his energy minister, Jim Mather, has commented, "Scotland has huge coal reserves which, alongside our renewables potential, could meet Scotland's electricity needs for many years to come." The new energy policy would only require future coal-fired power stations to be ready to capture carbon dioxide, should the technology ever become available.

James Hansen takes UK to task over coal
On January 31, 2009, James Hansen - director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the world's foremost climate scientists - published an open letter to Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond. In the letter, Hansen urges Salmond to issue a moratorium on new coal plants until and unless "any new plant can be guaranteed to operate with full capture throughout its entire life." Hansen also insists that merely requiring carbon capture readiness is not an acceptable policy: "It is a sham that does not guarantee that a single tonne of carbon will be captured in practice. Alternative approaches must be considered which ensure an effective moratorium on new unabated coal power."

On February 15, 2009, Hansen published another article in The Observer, this time lambasting the British government's decision to approve the construction of a new coal-fired power plant at Kingsnorth. Hansen cites the UK, United States, and Germany as the biggest per-capita polluters of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels. Calling for a complete moratorium on new coal plants and phase-out of existing ones, he stressed the need for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to act:

"The Prime Minister should not underestimate his potential to transform the situation. And he must not pretend to be ignorant of the consequences of continuing to burn coal or take refuge in a 'carbon cap' or some 'target' for future emission reductions. My message to Gordon Brown is that young people are beginning to understand the situation. They want to know: will you join their side? Remember that history, and your children, will judge you."

Domestic Consumption and Coal-Fired Power Stations
Even if a substantial coal-fired power station building program were to proceed, the prospects for the UK coal industry are limited. A 2004 report by consultants Mott MacDonald for the UK Department of Trade and Industry investigated the impact of the imposition of stricter sulphur dioxide emission standards on the coal sector. They concluded that coal production "would be sustained within a band of 21-29 mt in 2010 and 15-21 mt in 2016". The report noted that the narrow range reflected that the known reserves at existing mines and the "low likelihood that there will be any new major investments in mine capacity."

It noted that most UK coal falls in the high sulphur band of 1.4-2.2% "with an average of around 1.7-1.8%". With stricter European Union sulphur dioxide emission standards being imposed to force power stations to either install flue gas desulpherisation equipment or retire non-complaint stations. The consultants view was that all large power stations "will increasingly need a diet of coal much lower in sulphur than standard UK coal grades." In particular, it noted that the very low sulphur coal from Indonesia -- which has sulphur content of less that o.2% -- would be highly sought after. (See Indonesia and coal for more information on the rapid expansion of coal mining there).

However, the consultants found that where a high price was attached to carbon, nuclear plant lives extended and renewable generation boomed, "coal would be squeezed to very low levels". In this scenario, they considered that coal consumption could drop to 30 million tonnes in 2012 and 12 million tonnes in 2016. It's more optimistic scenario for the coal industry was that carbon prices were low, gas was expensive, nuclear stations decommissioned and limited expansion of renewable energy. In this scenario they considered that "coal could sustain or even increase its share in generation".

A E.ON UK report notes that "all of the existing coal-fired power stations in the UK, including the existing units at Kingsnorth, are of sub-critical design and achieve efficiencies of 35-38% depending upon their age and specific design."

Major UK Coal-Fired Generation Companies
The World Coal Institute lists the major coal-fired power generation companies, ranked in gigawatts capacity order for 2005, as being :
 * E.ON UK Ltd 4.9 gigawatts
 * RWE nPower 4.4
 * EDF Energy 4.0 gigawatts
 * Scottish and Southern Energy 3.9 gigawatts
 * Drax Power 3.9 gigawatts
 * Scottish Power 3.5 gigawatts
 * British Energy 2.0 gigawatts
 * International Power 1.0 gigawatt
 * AES 0.5 gigawatts
 * Uskmouth Power 0.4 gigawatts

Existing Coal-Fired Power Stations
Existing Coal-Fired power stations are identified by the United Kingdom Quality Ash Association as being:


 * Aberthaw B Power Station which is owned by RWE nPower and located at Barry, South Glamorgan. It comprises three units and has an installed capacity of 1,489 megawatts;
 * Cockenzie which is owned by Scottish Power and located in	Prestopans, East Lothian. It comprises two units and has an installed capacity of 1,152 megawatts;
 * Cottam which is owned by EDF Energy and located in Retford, Nottinghamshire. It comprises two units and has an installed capacity of 1,970 megawatts;
 * Didcot A which is owned by RWE nPower and located in Didcot, Oxford. It comprises four units and has an installed capacity of 2,020 megawatts;
 * Drax which is owned by Drax Power Ltd and located in Drax, Selby, North Yorks. It comprises six units and has an installed capacity of 3,870 megawatts;
 * Eggborough which is owned by British Energy and located in Goole, North Humberside. It comprises two units and has an installed capacity of 1,960 megawatts;
 * Ferrybridge C which is owned by Scottish and Southern Energy and located in Knottingley, West Yorkshire. It comprises four units and has an installed capacity of 1,955 megawatts;
 * Fiddlers Ferry which is owned by Scottish and Southern Energy and located in Cuerdley, Warrington. It comprises four units and has an installed capacity of 1,961 megawatts;
 * Ironbridge which is owned by E.ON UK and located in Telford, Shropshire. It comprises two units and has an installed capacity of 970 megawatts;
 * Kingsnorth which is owned by E.ON UK and located in Rochester, Kent. It comprises four units and has an installed capacity of 1,974 megawatts;
 * Longannet which is owned by Scottish Power and located in Kincardine-on-Forth, Fife. It comprises four units and has an installed capacity of 2,304 megawatts;
 * Lynemouth which is owned by Alcan Primary Metal (a division of Alcan and located in Ashington, Northumberland. and has an installed capacity of 420 megawatts;
 * Ratcliffe which is owned by E.ON UK and located in Ratcliife on Soar, Nottingham. It comprises four units and has an installed capacity of 2,000 megawatts;
 * Rugeley which is owned by International Power and located in Rugeley. It comprises two units and has an installed capacity of 976 megawatts;
 * Tilbury B which is owned by RWE nPower PLC and located in Tilbury, Essex. It comprises three units and has an installed capacity of 1,020 megawatts;
 * West Burton which is owned by EDF Energy and located in Retford, Nottinghamshire. It comprises four units and has an installed capacity of 1,932 megawatts;
 * Wilton which is owned by ICI and located in Wilton International, Middlesborough, and has an installed capacity of 100 megawatts;
 * Uskmouth which is owned by Uskmouth Power Ltd and located in Nash Common, Newport, and has an installed capacity of 393 megawatts; the plant has been fitted with the plant flue-gas desulphurisation equipment;
 * Moneypoint in Ireland; and
 * Kilroot which is owned by AES and located in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, and has an installed capacity of 520 megawatts.

A consultant's report for the DTI from March 2004 also listed Fifoot Point with 3 generating units and an installed capacity of 400 megawatts. However, this report did not include the Lynemouth and Uskmouth power stations listed above.

Proposed or Possible New Coal-Fired Power Stations
In a table in the January 2008 edition of the ENDS Report, James Richens lists existing proposals for new coal-fired power stations as including:
 * Kingsnorth Power Station a 1,600 megawatt supercritical coal plant proposed by E.ON UK with a notional commissioning date of 2012;
 * Tilbury Power Station 1,600 megawatt supercritical coal plant proposed by RWE nPower with a notional commissioning date of 2014. The proposal was shelved in November 2009.
 * Blyth Power Station a 2,400 megawatt supercritical coal plant proposed by RWE nPower with a notional commissioning date of 2014. The proposal was shelved in November 2009.
 * Ferrybridge Power Station a 800 megawatt supercritical coal plant proposed by Scottish and Southern Energy; there is no known notional commissioning date;
 * Longannet Power Station 2,304 megawatt supercritical coal plant proposed by Scottish Power; there is no known notional commissioning date;
 * Cockenzie Power Station a 1,152 megawatt supercritical coal plant proposed by Scottish Power; there is no known notional commissioning date;
 * Teesside Power Station a 800 megawatt coal gasification plant proposed by Centrica that is currently on hold;
 * Hatfield Power Station, a 900 megawatt proposed coal gasification project proposed by Powerfuel with a notional commissioning date of 2013;
 * High Marnham Power Station, a 1,600 megawatt supercritical project proposed by E.ON UK with a notional commissioning date of 2012; and
 * Killinholme Power Station, a 450 megawatt proposed coal gasification project proposed by E.ON UK that is currently on hold.
 * Hunterston Power Station, a proposed 1600 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station at Hunterston. The power station has been proposed by Ayrshire Power.

Kingsnorth project canceled
In October 2010, E.ON said the economic conditions were not right for the company to continue pursuing the Kingsnorth project. E.ON's decision left just one contender in the competition: Longannet entered by a consortium led by Iberdrola-owned Scottish Power. The government insisted the project will go ahead in spite of the withdrawal of E.ON, although £1bn announced by Chancellor George Osborne is expected to pay for just one demonstrator plant rather than the four industry had hoped for. The validation project is likely to cost £500m to build and £500m to operate, said Professor Stuart Haszeldine, FRSE, Professor of Carbon Capture and Storage and Geology at the University of Edinburgh.

Coal Exports
Current coal exports from the UK are limited to approximately 500,000 tonnes. Nor are there any reasonable prospects for exports to expand. At present there is only one coal export berth for loading coal onto ships and the UK coal would not be competitive at anticipated international coal prices. "It is unclear," the consultants note, whether there would be many European buyers who would take UK coal, with its higher sulphur and ash contents and its low CV" [calorific value].

Citizen Groups Working on Coal

 * Coal in the UK: http://coalintheuk.org/about/

UK coal related articles

 * Advanced Power Technology Forum
 * British Coal Utilisation Research Association
 * British Geological Survey
 * Coal Authority (UK)
 * David Cameron on Carbon Capture and Storage
 * Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
 * Department of Trade and Industry (UK)
 * European Union Large Combustion Plant Directive
 * John Hutton on Nuclear Power and Coal-Fired Power Stations
 * Scottish Coal
 * UK Coal
 * Very low sulphur coal

Global coal use

 * Global use and production of coal
 * Australia and coal
 * China and coal
 * Colombia and coal
 * Europe and coal
 * Germany and coal
 * Indonesia and coal
 * Japan and coal
 * New Zealand and coal
 * South Africa and coal
 * United States and coal

External Articles

 * International Energy Agency, "Coal in United Kingdom in 2005", International Energy Agency website, accessed June 2008.
 * U.S. Geological Survey, United Kingdom Country profiles 1994-2005
 * CoalPro, "UK", World Coal Institute website, accessed June 2008.
 * Mott MacDonald, "UK Coal Production Outlook: 2004-16", Department of Trade and Industry website, Final Report March 2004.
 * British Geological Survey, "United Kingdom", 2006.
 * James Richens, "King coal promises to clean up", ENDS Report 396, January 2008, pp 26-29.(Registration required).
 * Verity Murphy, "Government reversal on coal mines", Panorama, BBC, December 1, 2008.